This conference grant proposal seeks support for enhancing the annual meeting of the American Auditory Society by providing support in four areas, designed to stimulate clinical research and patient support in the area of hearing and balance. Support is requested to provide 1) four Translational Research Lectures, 2) a special Interdisciplinary Session (made up of three additional speakers and based on a topic set by one of the translational research topics), 3) one lecture by a Young Investigator to precede the Student-Resident poster session, and 4) competitive Student and Resident Research Poster Session (20 posters). The Translational Research Lectures provide support to invite prominent, cutting-edge scientists from related fields, who might not generally participate, to present their research. These presentations have been stimulating and exciting for the AAS participants. The Interdisciplinary Session allows for an in-depth expansion of one of the topics addressed by a Translational Scientist, by including presentations by others from complementary disciplines working on a similar area of research. Support for one Young Investigator is requested to provide an inspirational talk aimed specifically towards graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and residents. This award acknowledges early excellence in the scientist and also serves to motivate aspiring scientists and clinicians. To complete the enhancement of our field we propose to support twenty (20) graduate students or otolaryngology residents with a modest travel award to present their research in the form of a poster. This mechanism is designed to encourage hard-working students, to provide them with a venue to discuss their research with more seasoned clinical scientists and to take advantage of the stimulating lectures and opportunities to interact provided by the AAS meeting. Abstracts and summaries of the information from the meetings will be distributed at the meeting and posted on the website in an indexed manner. The outcome of this endeavor will be judged by the overall impressions of the participants which will be monitored after each meeting by surveys and questionnaires. This information is reviewed annually by the meeting planning committee and incorporated into future programs. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This project seeks to enhance communication among basic scientists, clinicians (physicians, audiologists, speech-language pathologists) and those working in applied industry in the area of hearing and balance disorders by providing support for specialized presentations at the annual meeting of the American Auditory Society. These lectures and series are specifically designed to stimulate interaction and provide mechanisms for translation of science, attention to clinical needs and application of industrial ingenuity to enhance clinical practice. This proposal also provides mechanisms to encourage graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and residents interested in clinical research through a travel-scholarship program that allows them to present their research to more seasoned basic and applied researchers.